Zotac ZBox Nano AD10 Plus Review

First impressions of the Zotac Zbox Nano AD10 system are positive. The packaging is very attractive, and the bundle is both comprehensive and thoughtful. The literature is well written and is loaded with clear and easy to comprehend illustrations. Ideal for a novice user. That said, we are surprised that Zotac didn't include an HDMI cable.

In regards to performance, the AMD E350 is certainly not classed as a powerhouse design by any stretch of the imagination. That said, it is capable of smooth high definition media playback, and moderate resolution gaming, if you don't mind lowering some of the image quality settings. It won't power demanding Direct X 11 titles however, and if you will be considering discrete graphics as an upgrade later, then the AD10 won't suit.

As a center point for a living room or bedroom however the NANO AD10 comes highly recommended. It can handle 1080p Bluray playback with ease, demands little power, is basically silent and runs cool.

Negatively, we have to dock a point for the inclusion of a low performance 320GB 5,400 rpm 2.5 inch hard drive. This drive is slow to respond and dramatically reduces the overall responsiveness of the system. We can understand that at such a tight price point compromises have to be made, but we would have preferred a smaller capacity 7,200 rpm unit. We tested with a quality 7,200 rpm drive and the system was noticeably more responsive.

How much would a 7,200 rpm hard drive have cost Zotac? The Seagate Momentus 7,200 2.5 inch drive for instance is available for £37 inc vat at Amazon. the Samsung HM321HI drive included in the NANO AD10 costs £30 inc vat. Sadly, this inability to deal with a £7 difference in price has ruined the overall system performance of the Nano AD10 and we could honestly not live with the sluggish response times and substandard sequential throughput from the included drive. Obviously an SSD drive would have made the price unreasonable for many people, but we think a 7,200 rpm drive could have been included.

All things considered, at £249 inc vat, the Nano AD10 proves to offer good value for money, although we would budget another £40 for a drive changeover, with an external self powered USB enclosure for the supplied Samsung drive, so it could be to be used for file storage.

Overall, we like the ZBox Nano AD10 Plus, it is tiny, generates little heat and demands even less power. For noise sensitive situations it makes a great shortlist product as it is basically silent.

Pros:

• Looks fantastic.
• good bundle.
• quiet.
• low power drain.
• runs cool.
• ideal for media and casual gaming demands.

Cons:

• No HDMI cable.
• hard drive is the only weak area of the system build.
• Operating system costs need factored in.

Kitguru says: For the money, it is an excellent purchase. We would mod it out a little however with a new hard drive and perhaps even a memory upgrade.

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